Editing Mask (section)

===Europe===
[[File:Theatre Olympics 2023 (3).jpg|thumb|Greek mask]]     
[[File:Budēļi.JPG|thumb|[[Meteņi]] [[mumming]] group ([[Budēļi]], Buduļi or Būduļi) of [[Zemgale]] and [[Courland]] regions in [[Latvia]], 2016<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.celotajs.lv/cont/prof/proj/Interreg_IVA-Heritage_Tourism/Documents/Pasakumi/2013/Prezentacija_Meteni.pdf | title = LAUKU CEĻOTĀ – Praktiskais seminārs: "Masku tradīcijas latviešu kultūrā" | trans-title = COUNTRY TRAVEL – Practical seminar: "MASK TRADITIONS IN LATVIAN CULTURE" | language = Latvian | first = Inese | last = Roze | date = April 4, 2013 | publisher = Latvian Country Tourism Association | access-date = February 26, 2016}}</ref>]]
[[File:Venice carnival costume with mask and hat - transparent.png|thumb|A Venetian carnival mask]]

The oldest representations of masks in Europe are animal masks, such as the [[cave paintings]] of [[Lascaux]] in the [[Dordogne]] in southern France. Such masks survive in the alpine regions of Austria and Switzerland, and may be connected with hunting or [[shamanism]]. Masks are used throughout Europe in modern times, and are frequently integrated into regional folk celebrations and customs. Old masks are preserved and can be seen in [[museum]]s and other collections, and much research has been undertaken into the historical origins of masks. Most probably represent [[Animism|nature spirits]], and as a result many of the associated customs are seasonal. The original significance would have survived only until the introduction of [[Christianity]], which incorporated many of the customs into its own traditions. In that process their meanings were changed also so, for example, old [[god]]s and goddesses originally associated with the celebrations were demonised and viewed as mere [[devil]]s, or were subjugated to the [[Abrahamic God]].

Many of the masks and characters used in European festivals belong to the contrasting categories of the 'good', or 'idealised beauty', set against the 'ugly' or 'beastly' and grotesque. This is particularly true of the Germanic and Central European festivals. Another common type is the [[Jester|Fool]], sometimes considered to be the synthesis of the two contrasting types, Handsome and Ugly.<ref name=Mack-1994>{{cite book | title = Masks: the Art of Expression | editor-first = John | editor-last = Mack | publisher = British Museum | year = 1994 | isbn = 0-7141-2507-5 | chapter = The other within: masks and masquerades in Europe | first = Cesayo | last = Poppi}}</ref> Masks also tend to be associated with New Year and [[Carnival]] festivals.

The debate about the meaning of these and other mask forms continues in Europe, where [[monsters]], [[bears]], [[wild man|wild men]], [[harlequin]]s, [[hobby horse]]s, and other fanciful characters appear in carnivals throughout the continent. It is generally accepted that the masks, noise, colour, and clamour are meant to drive away the forces of darkness and winter, and open the way for the spirits of light and the coming of spring.<ref>Lommel (1970), chapter: "Europe/Conclusion".</ref> In [[Sardinia]] existed the tradition of ''Mamuthones e Issohadores'' of [[Mamoiada]]; ''Boes e Merdules'' of [[Ottana]]; ''Thurpos'' of [[Orotelli]]; ''S'Urtzu'', ''Su 'Omadore'' and ''Sos Mamutzones'' of [[Samugheo]]. The celebration of [[Giubiana]] in [[Canzo]] ([[Lombardy]]) preserves a tradition of masks of [[anguane]], [[wild man]], [[Cultural depictions of bears|bear]] and its hunter, and Giubiana herself, among others.

Another tradition of European masks developed, more self-consciously, from court and civic events, or entertainments managed by [[guilds]] and co-fraternities. These grew out of the earlier revels and had become evident by the 15th century in places such as Rome and [[Venice]], where they developed as entertainments to enliven towns and cities. Thus the [[Maundy Thursday]] carnival in St. Marks Square in Venice, attended by the [[Doge (title)|Doge]] and aristocracy, also involved the guilds, including a guild of maskmakers.<ref>{{citation | title = Festivals and Celebrations | first = Roland | last = Auguet | publisher = Collins | year = 1975 | lccn = 73-15299}}</ref> There is evidence of '[[commedia dell'arte]]'-inspired [[Venetian masks]] and by the late 16th century the Venetian Carnival began to reach its peak and eventually lasted a whole 'season' from January until [[Lent]]. By the 18th century, it was already a tourist attraction, [[Goethe]] saying that he was ugly enough not to need a mask. The carnival was repressed during the Napoleonic Republic, although in the 1980s its costumes and the masks aping the 18th century heyday were revived.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/ | title =Cornell University Library Digital Collections | work = Digital Collections | publisher = Cornell University Library}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2021}} It appears other cities in central Europe were influenced by the Venetian model.

During the Reformation, many of these carnival customs began to die out in Protestant regions, although they seem to have survived in Catholic areas despite the opposition of the ecclesiastical authorities. So by the 19th century, the carnivals of the relatively wealthy bourgeois town communities, with elaborate masques and costumes, existed side by side with the ragged and essentially folkloric customs of the rural areas.<ref name=MasquesduMonde /> Although these civic masquerades and their masks may have retained elements drawn from popular culture, the survival of carnival in the 19th century was often a consequence of a self-conscious 'folklore' movement that accompanied the rise of nationalism in many European countries.<ref name=Mack-1994 /> Nowadays, during [[carnival in the Netherlands]] masks are often replaced with face paint for more comfort.

In the beginning of the new century, on 19 August 2004, the [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] archaeologist [[Georgi Kitov]] discovered a 673 g gold mask in the burial mound "Svetitsata" near [[Shipka (town)|Shipka]], Central [[Bulgaria]]. It is a very fine piece of workmanship made out of massive 23 [[Fineness#Karat|karat]] gold. Unlike other masks discovered in the [[Balkans]] (of which three are in [[Republic of Macedonia]] and two in Greece), it is now kept in the [[National Archaeological Museum (Bulgaria)|National Archaeological Museum]] in [[Sofia]]. It is considered to be the mask of a [[Thracians|Thracian]] king, presumably [[Teres I|Teres]].